Famous Vegans - Steve-O

Steve-O, 2011.

Steve-O

Born Stephen Gilchrist Glover on June 13, 1974. He is an American stunt performer and television personality. He was born in London, has lived in 5 countries and holds citizenship in three countries: The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. After finishing high school in London and a year at the University of Miami, he enrolled in Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College to help further his goal of becoming a professional stuntman.

After graduating Clown College, he started sending his home videos to producers. He got hired and the first season of Jackass aired in 2000. After the Jackass tv series ended, he began filming the Jackass movies. You can check out some of his other work at this link. In 2009, he competed on ABC's Dancing With The Stars, lasting 6 weeks. He wrote the book Steve-O Professional Idiot: A Memoir. He got sober in 2008 and became vegan in 2009. You can find his website at this link.

Steve-O: I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur for PETA.

He made a public service announcement about dissection in schools for PETA:

Quotes by Steve-O:

"I’m a proud vegan, whistle-blower, and animal rights activist."

He went to the premiere of the movie Forks over Knives. Asked about why he was there, he answered:

"Because I'm vegan. And I love it. I'm a big supporter of the vegan lifestyle."

About becoming vegetarian, he said:

"I heard a Krishna Consciousness guy in a YouTube video ask 'How can you expect to be saved if you eat meat?' I became terrified of having to 'answer' for all of the suffering that I was causing for animals and immediately stopped eating meat."

When asked whether it was difficult for him to go vegan, he answered:

"Not at all. My experience with quitting eating meat was so positive, it really benefitted me so much, that I was just like "man, I can do more". So then I stopped with eggs and I stopped eating fish. And then ultimately I bought a carton of soy milk and it was all over. I'm super into it!."

Asked how long he's been vegan, he answered:

"Since August of '09. Before August '09 I was pescetarian for a year and a half."

In 2009, he talked with PETA about going vegan:

"When I first became involved with PETA, it was on an "issue-by-issue" basis—they interviewed me in my old apartment about animal abuse in the circus as I sat on a leather sofa. At that time I was a meat-eater and told them I believe that if anyone is going to wear the flesh or fur of an animal, they should at least have the decency to eat the meat of that animal. That comment led to my involvement in PETA's "Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. The following year, I chose to stop eating meat (and stop wearing or purchasing anything made out of leather); however, citing reports that Jesus Christ fed lots of people with fish, I continued to eat fish. Most recently, for just over a month now, I've kept to a strictly vegan diet and I've not felt "hard-done-by" at all. I have been really enjoying making a project out of seeking out an extremely healthy diet of raw, organic, vegan foods—and I plan on continuing to do so."

"I got into being vegan because I was simply looking to benefit from being more compassionate. I have since come to learn that it is an animal-based diet that is responsible for the overwhelming majority of cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, and all kinds of other problems."

"In Jackass 3D I get into a pen with a ram that charges into my nuts. I was really conflicted about that. I remember when the movie started, I said, "I don’t want to work with animals. That’s not what I’m about." But then I did the ram scene anyway, and I justified it in my head, like, "O.K., this is for work. I’ve got to put my own personal beliefs aside." So I got into the pen and my instincts took over. The ram charged towards my nuts, and I put my hand down to block it. That happened a bunch of times, and as a result the tendons in my right hand are totally messed up. ... I feel like it’s a permanent reminder that I compromised my beliefs."

"Regardless of anyone's dietary motivations, the healthiest lifestyle is the one that's most compassionate."

"Being a vegan, caring about animals... all this compassion in my lifestyle is the reward in and of itself."

Quotes are from a PETA article about Steve-O's participation in fur campaign, his 2010 interview with Vanity Fair, his 2011 interview at the Forks Over Knives premiere, his interview with Brightest Young Things, a 2011 article about honoring him on PETA, his statement about going vegan on PETA website and a 2011 article on PETA2 about his path to veganism.